Liverpool Arts Diary – September 2017

With events exploring psychedelia, sexuality and baking, Getintothis’ Sinéad Nunes rounds up the best of the arts events for September.

Psych Fest Shorts: Too Much is Never Enough, at FACT

6 September, 7.30pm, £4 / £3 concessions

Inspired by the themes of excess and overwhelming sensory experiences which run throughout this year’s festival, FACT presents a night of artist-made shorts. Each film explores one aspect of the psychedelic state, moving from noise to stillness, from retina-searing colour and fractured light to uncannily perfect pastels, greys and whites. Narratives unfold across familiar and unknowable spaces: from the natural world to unpopulated rooms, or backdrops which spring entirely from the digital realm. Featured artists include Rachel Maclean, Sophia Al Maria, Laure Provost and Agnieska Polska, amongst others.

Taking the underrepresentation of professional women chefs in the public sphere v the sexist connotations of a woman’s place in the kitchen as a starting point, Grrrl Power present a series of workshops to encourage discussion of gender roles, and to reclaim the kitchen through celebrating it as a space that represents childhood nostalgia, storytelling, creativity and different cultural significance through photographs. Grrrl Power will be asking you to drop in, swap stories and share recipes, try a hand at screen printing, join a book club discussion, and see a pop-up exhibition.

2017 marks the 300th anniversary of the Bluecoat building. From heritage tours exploring Georgian architecture, to printing workshops, a historical talks and even a tea party in the Bluecoat garden complete with craft demonstrations and family activities, there’s something for everyone. This weekend of events runs alongside Bluecoat’s current exhibition Abacus, which redefines the gallery as a space for children to learn and play.

Coming Out at Walker Art Gallery is an exhibition featuring artists who have explored sexuality and gender identity in the last 50 years since the partial decriminialisation of homosexual acts (1967’s Sexual Offences Act). As part of the show, visitors are invited to have their tarot read live in the gallery by Barbara Truvada, within the immersive space of John Walter’s Alien Sex Club installation. Walter designed the cards to allow reader and visitors the chance to discuss subjects including sexuality and cultural transmission.

See the full events programme here. Exhibition continues until 5 November.

Different Trains 1947

Different Trains 1947, at Metal (Edge Hill Station, Tunnel Road)

27 September, 7pm, £22 (+ booking fee)

Whether you were one of the hundreds who witnessed the open air performance of Steve Reich’s Different Trains last year at Metal or not, you won’t want to miss this. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, music artists Actress, Jack Barnett (These New Puritans), Indian music producer Sandunes, percussionist Jivraj Singh and vocalist Priya Purushothaman have collaborated with filmmakers/artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard (famous for the Nick Cave movie 20,000 Days on Earth), to perform a new audiovisual composition in response to the events of 1947. With support on the night from Darkstar, this promises to be a must-see outdoor spectacle.